NBC pays big, renews "ER"

Published on January 15, 1998.

NBC renewed "ER," TV's top-rated show, for $13 million per episode for the next three years. It is the most expensive license fee ever paid by a network. If "ER" produces its average 22 episodes a season, NBC's cost per season would be $286 million. NBC paid Warner Bros. Television about $1.5 million per episode for the last four years; reportedly, "ER" costs $2 million per episode to produce. "ER" has been averaging $560,000 for a 30-second commercial, according to Advertising Age's annual survey of TV ad rates. Media buyers today said they did not expect NBC to raise the ad pricing of the series dramatically next season.